Financials fall back on unexpected UK decision

Market Report: A positive start to trading was upset yesterday, as a surprise interest rate hike by the Bank of England added some volatility to a day that had started out promisingly for financial stocks.

Markets turned straight away after the bank's announcement. Although Dublin did not suffer as much as London, the Iseq still finished the day down 0.58 per cent.

AIB, Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish all suffered as a result of the unexpected decision. AIB finished the day on €19.82, down 12 cent.

Anglo closed at €11.66, down 4 cent, while Bank of Ireland fell 11 cent to €14.15.

The only bank to remain resilient to the Bank of England's move was Irish Life & Permanent, which finished flat on €18.50.

After a strong day on Wednesday, CRH was badly hit by yesterday's interest rate announcement, dipping below the €25.00 mark at one point, before closing at €25.35, a drop of 1.66 per cent on the day before.

Glanbia proved to be one of the day's more positive stories, emerging from a recent spell in the doldrums to recover 4 cent and close at €2.00.

It was another strong day for C&C, which saw good support and decent volumes. It added 10 cent to its price, finishing on €8.50.

McInerney's announcement that it is to acquire the UK-based Bowey Homes was generally viewed quite positively by the market, but pressures on the day meant the stock still fell 36 cent to €10.59.

Kerry also fared badly yesterday, as the market continued to show concern about reports of the firm's interest in acquiring Birdseye. It lost 7 cent and closed at €15.30.

Elsewhere, IAWS slipped 15 cent to €14.75, Grafton was down 19 cent to €10.36 and Paddy Power fell back 10 cent to €13.55.

Ryanair, which released first-quarter numbers on Tuesday, finished on a price somewhat appropriate for the airline industry, losing 10 cent to land on €7.47.